The Latest: Pentagon access battle; Journalist’s firsthand account of ICE detention; CBS News ratings plummet

Editor's note: The Latest will return to your inbox Thursday, April 2.

March 25, 2026

■ Estefany Rodríguez shares her immigration detention story (Nashville Banner)

■ Meta, YouTube found negligent in landmark social media addiction trial (Washington Post) / What did jury decide in social media case against Meta and Google? (Reuters)

■ Call between POLITICO journalist and EU official was intercepted and published online (Politico)

■ Six months into Bari Weiss’ overhaul of CBS News, new ratings data obtained by Status shows its flagship programs are shedding viewers at an alarming rate , collapsing to historic lows and accelerating the network’s decline. (Status) / “According to preliminary data that I obtained, under Bari Weiss, “CBS Mornings” is pacing toward its lowest-rated quarter *on record* in both total audience & the 25-54 demo. …” (Oliver Darcy) / “For those of you interested in the evening news ratings race: CBS is back above 4 million, but ABC is still more than twice as high . Here's last week; first # is total viewers, the second is 25-54 demo…” (Brian Stelter) / Wendy McMahon left CBS. She's not done making news (Marie Claire)

■ BBC says former Google executive Matt Brittin will be its new director-general (Associated Press) / Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski renew "Morning Joe" contracts (Axios) / NPR's Carrie Johnson becomes a Supreme Court correspondent (Carrie Johnson) / Our New Executive Editor for Enterprise: Jennifer Maloney (Business Insider) / Michael Brice-Saddler joins City Cast DC as city hall reporter (City Cast DC)

■ Savannah Guthrie tapes interview with Hoda Kotb, plans ‘Today’ show return next month (CNN Business)

■ The latest twist in Virginia’s redistricting battle: a ‘pink slime’ newspaper in Arlington (ARLnow.com) / Polymarket affiliates are spreading misinformation on X (Columbia Journalism Review)

■ US settles social media censorship case, bars agencies from threatening penalties (Reuters)

■ Elon Musk pauses changes to X's creator revenue-sharing program after backlash (TechCrunch)

■ OpenAI will shut down Sora video app; Disney drops plans for $1 billion investment (Wall Street Journal) / How AI is creeping into The New York Times (The Atlantic)

■ Where do Americans turn first for information about breaking news? (Pew Research Center) / Young people want their news to be more fun , a new report says (Nieman Journalism Lab)

■ Why Netflix is turning Major League Baseball's opening night into a big event (LA Times)

■ Write it up! How fast do our journalists type ? (New York Times)

How the news media can regain public trust. April 17, 2026 in Oxford, Mississippi. Click to learn more.

7 prompt design techniques for generative AI

“Tools like ChatGPT might seem to speak your language, but they actually speak a language of probability and educated guesswork. You can make yourself better understood — and get more professional results — with a few simple prompting techniques. Here are the key ones to add to your toolkit: Role prompting …; one-shot prompting …; recursive prompting …; retrieval augmented generation prompting …; chain-of-thought prompting …; meta-prompting …; and negative prompting …”

-- Paul Bradshaw , author and data journalism professor at Birmingham City University, excerpt from “7 prompt design techniques for generative AI every journalist should know.” Definitions for each prompt style above are outlined in the piece.

Share with a student journalist: Applications for NPCJI summer 2026 internships are open

The National Press Club Journalism Institute is currently recruiting applicants for its paid summer internship program in Washington, D.C.

Interns will have the opportunity to gain a tailored, hands-on experience in reporting, interviewing, and supporting the Institute’s mission to power journalism in the public interest and champion press freedom. Previous internship or writing experience in journalism, media, or communications is a plus.

Interested candidates should submit a resume, a cover letter outlining their journalism or communication experience and interest in the National Press Club Journalism Institute, and up to three work samples (ie: news articles, interviews, reports, class projects) using this form.

The complete position summary is linked here.

The application deadline is 11:59 p.m. ET, Sunday, April 12, 2026.

Say hello during the Online News Association conference next week

If you’re among the journalists heading to Chicago for ONA’s annual conference, please stop by our NPCJI booth to meet our team and learn about some of our newest resources to support your work. We’ll be raffling a field safety kit and National Press Club gear, so visit to claim your ticket!

Interested in talking about partnerships while we're there? Schedule a time to chat with NPCJI Executive Director Beth Francesco.

Resources

This newsletter is written and edited by the National Press Club Journalism Institute staff: Beth Francesco, Holly Butcher Grant, and Elliot C. Williams. Send us your questions and suggestions for topics to cover.

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The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes First Amendment values by equipping journalists in Washington, D.C., and nationwide with the skills, knowledge, standards, resources and networks to empower and inform the public. As the non-profit affiliate of the National Press Club, the Institute powers journalism in the public interest. The Institute's tax ID number is 52-1750908.